Small Rural Drinking Water System Consolidation and Infrastructure Development: Lessons Learned from California

Susan K Willis, PhD, GHD Limited, Christchurch, NZ

Throughout California, USA, many small drinking water systems struggle to provide reliable, high-quality water for their communities, facing inadequate infrastructure and water quality standard violations, but without the resources to resolve these challenges. The state’s Human Right to Water List, which tracks systems experiencing severe water quality violations, shows 306 of 352 such systems are considered either small (population between 500 and 3000) or very small (population under 500). In response, the State of California, as the primary governing agency, has begun a major effort to address these issues through expanded Technical Assistance programs, allocation of additional funds for grants and loans, and a focus on solutions for small, rural, and economically disadvantaged communities.

Many of the small systems served by these programs face unique challenges to updating infrastructure and achieving compliance with drinking water standards, stemming from remote locations, workforce limitations, ageing system infrastructure, and small populations, in addition to challenges like drought, atypical precipitation patterns, and wildfires. The broad mandate of the State effort provides an opportunity for projects that address multiple issues for a given system – through mandated or voluntary physical and managerial consolidation, regional agreements, or traditional infrastructure improvements. Such multisolution projects, however, require additional planning and a nuanced approach to gain community support.

This paper addresses the following:
- The nature of water system issues in small communities
- An overview of the recent California state response and program structures
- Common challenges for small water systems project implementation
- Solutions and creative approaches to these challenges, including state-supported financing and consolidation support techniques
- Case studies from recent small water system projects
- The implications for small systems and assistance programs broadly
- Observations relevant to New Zealand under the Water Services Reform Programme

This paper will provide a window into the challenges faced, important considerations unique to small systems, and approaches leading to successful improvement projects in California. This is of immediate relevance to water system improvements and consolidation efforts related to Water Reform in New Zealand. New Zealand is in a unique position to take advantage of economies of scale through entity-wide or national standardisation of drinking water source, treatment, and provision systems; data collection, reporting, and asset management; and design and documentation. This paper will summarise experience within the strict regulatory framework of California and propose opportunities and outcomes appropriate to New Zealand’s new regulatory and organisational framework.